TUM medical students have many opportunities to gain international experience during their studies. They can take part in traditional exchange programs such as Erasmus+ or go abroad as part of worldwide cooperations with the TUMexchange program.
Erasmus+
The Erasmus+ SMS Program supports medical students in organizing a study-related stay abroad at around 31 partner universities in 17 European countries by granting a monthly mobility allowance and exempting them from foreign tuition fees. The number of Erasmus+ students (both incoming and outgoing) is constantly increasing.
The Erasmus+ SMP Program also offers medical students the opportunity to complete internships in other European countries and also supports them with a monthly grant. However, students can also complete internships worldwide outside of these programs and receive individual support and advice from the Student Office before and during their stay.
TUM Medical Studies Worldwide
With the concept "TUM Medical Studies Worldwide - Curriculum International", the TUM School of Medicine and Health offers two different course tracks, each with specific preparation for stays abroad:
For targeted preparation for internships in the Anglo-American region, medical students can take the elective "Case Discussion Rounds" (CDR). It is held entirely in English and students learn the North American structures and terminology of medical case presentation, also known as clinical reasoning, in this elective. This provides students with excellent professional skills for an internship in North America.
The second track emphasizes humanitarian aid and internships in developing countries. To better prepare students for this, the TUM School of Medicine and Health has established a corresponding lecture series on topics such as "Global Health" and "Participation in Humanitarian Missions with NGOs", in which various guest speakers present their work in different humanitarian projects.
Summer Schools
In addition to organizing the above-mentioned programs, the TUM School of Medicine and Health offers the opportunity to participate in international Summer Schools:
The trilateral Global Health Summer School is a joint project of the medical faculties and schools of the Universities of Nice (France), Katowice (Poland) and TUM and has been held annually at one of the three partner universities since 2008. The aim of the summer school is to provide students with basic knowledge in the interdisciplinary field of global health in a practical and interactive way within a short period of time. Last but not least, the meeting enables intercultural contacts between students from Germany, France and Poland to be deepened and thus creates a valuable opportunity to establish academic cooperation in teaching and research.
The International Case Discussion Summer School (ICDSS) is a cooperation between TUM and LMU and is strongly based on the American model of clinical case presentations (Clinical Case Discussion Rounds - CDR), which are part of the curriculum there. In the ICDSS, two cases from the New England Journal of Medicine are discussed in English every day over a period of weeks. The focus here is on jointly developing the diagnosis of a specific medical case in order to learn clinical thinking. The group is supported by renowned US professors and other guest lecturers from TUM and LMU, who comment on the round as experts and share their clinical experience.
Language Courses
Of course, all TUM students can choose from a wide range of language courses at the TUM Language Center. With courses in a total of 18 different languages, students can prepare for their stay abroad in the best possible way.